Passport

What does national identity mean in a transient world? Ask a Soviet émigré in Israel. Merab and Yasha are half brothers living in Tblissi, Soviet Georgia. Merab is a patriotic Soviet, but Yasha had a Jewish mother and wishes to emigrate with his family to Israel. In a comedy of errors that begins at the airport, Merab ends up with his brother's passport and ticket when buying duty-free liquor for a farewell celebration. The series of misadventures continues when penniless Merab discovers that he cannot get back through passport control, and the only way he can return is by taking his brother's seat on the airplane to Israel. Once in Israel, he tries to solve his dilemma and meets up with sordid Georgian émigrés, a sexy American journalist, African diplomats, and his brother's Israeli uncle who is convinced Merab is a KGB spy. Regardless of Merab's sincerity, things continue to go awry until he finally finds his way home. This first-ever Soviet-Israeli-French co-production is both funny and bittersweet; in the end the world and humanity would be much better off without the tyranny and restraints of borders.